CARE OF CUT FLOWERS

When I was studying horticulture I had to commute for an hour every day. I was lucky enough to get a lift into college most days, as I didn’t have a car. The woman that I had the lift with was the florist lecturer at the college and twice a week we had to stop off at the flower market to buy new stock for the budding florists to practice their skills on. The market was always packed with people buying the best of the flowers that came from all over the world. We used to get there at around seven o’clock in the morning, but the crowds would have got there much earlier. The market was open from around four in the morning and even the local pub was open at any time for those that wanted to wet their whistle.

The times that I went to the market I gathered vital information on the best ways to look after cut flowers. Some ideas do work, but I doubt many of us would be bothered to put stems that seep white sap into a flame to seal them! Unless you cut the flowers from your own garden you will find that flowers bought from the shops are quite expensive so it’s a good idea to follow a few simple rules to get a long display time and your monies worth out of them.

GENERAL CARE OF CUT FLOWERS
If you receive the flowers as a present or buy them yourself the first thing to do is to re-cut the stems, this will allow for the water to be sucked up by the stems. I tend to do this with the stems underwater as it avoids the possibility of an air lock in the stem. If the stem has an air lock the flower will soon wilt and die even if it is in the water. Put the flowers into a deep bucket, or something like a spaghetti jar and fill lukewarm water. Stand this in a cool, dark place overnight. Some woody stems will need to be hammered to let the water in.

ARRANGING
By the morning the flowers will be ready for arranging, as they will be full of water (turgid). The most popular method is to just put the flowers into a vase. If you fancy making a display then florists sell Oasis, which is very effective at holding the stems in place. Make sure it stays wet though as I find that in shallow bowls the flowers can dry out very quickly. Dry sand might be an alternative to Oasis as it holds the stems in place very effectively. Chicken wire can be used and if all else fails try using sellotape. Fill the vase with water to avoid getting the sellotape wet. Run the tape all over the top of the container in a zigzag pattern. The stems can then be pushed through the film .You probably wont win the Carndonagh show, but it does the trick.

EXTENDING THE LIFE OF THE FLOWERS
Following the procedures that I mentioned earlier will extend the life of cut plants considerably. Nevertheless there are other ways of getting the best out of the display. If you have the time then change the water in the vase every day. Whilst the flowers are out of the vase, cut off a tiny piece of the stem. This will help them to draw up the water. If you don’t have the time or interest to do that then there are some additives that can be used in the water. Salt is very effective in reviving spring flowers that are flagging a bit. Lemonade revives most flowers very effectively. This is mainly because of the sugar content so dissolving sugar into the lukewarm water works nearly as well. Copper can reduce the growth of fungus and bacteria in the water, in the same way as it keeps the blight off the spuds in the vegetable patch. Some people recommend using aspirin in the water. This can work for sagging flowers but can also harm healthy ones. Try adding a few twigs from the willow tree family into the display. That’s where the natural aspirin comes from.

BUYING AND PICKING THE FLOWERS
If you are picking flowers from the garden then the best time to do this is either the early morning or the evening. This way they are full of water. You will find that flowers cut when the sun is on them will die more rapidly. Try not to pick them when it is raining either, as that will shorten their life too.
Being so perishable it’s very important to give the flowers a good check over before buying them from a shop. Like most things with a short sell by date, the retailer wants to get rid of the oldest first, (think of bread and milk for example, the ones with the shortest date are put at the front). The same will go for the plants. If you see bunches still in bud then go for those instead of the ones in flower. Other things to look out for are if pollen drops, this means they are on their last legs. Check the stems too; if they are slimy and dark then they have been in the water too long. See that the petals have a lovely sheen too. It’s better to go for the bunches that are yet to reach their best, they might not look as attractive in the shop but will reward you after a few days.
If the flowers are wrapped in plastic then remove this as soon as possible as the flowers wont be able to breath and they will go mouldy.

Horticultural.